Americas
REG finishes upgrades to Iowa biodiesel refinery
Renewable Energy Group has completed upgrades to its 30-million gallon biorefinery in Mason City, Iowa, which allows the plant to produce biodiesel from a wide variety of raw materials.
Venezuela to expand refining capacity by 20%
As part of a $20-billion investment, PDVSA’s refining chief Jesus Luongo announced that the present refining capacity of 1.3 MMbpd will be increased by 265 Mbpd.
Westlake to expand Louisiana ethylene plant
The Westlake expansion is expected to be completed in late 2015 or early 2016 and will increase ethane-based ethylene capacity by approximately 250 million lb/year (113,000 tpy).
ABB expands Oklahoma automation, R&D facility
The facility expansion will enable ABB to support flow measurement and process automation for the shale-driven oil and gas industry.
Celanese buys US compounder Cool Polymers
The acquisition will accelerate Celanese’s growth in the conductive polymers market by building on Cool Polymers’ strong product portfolio and technical capabilities.
2015 global downstream spending projected to jump to all-time high
The HPI's total capital, maintenance & operating budgets are expected to exceed $324 B in 2015, representing an all-time high. Global announced project spending is also up.
Fertilizer groups CF Industries, Yara International terminate merger talks
CF Industries Holdings announced that the company and Yara International have terminated their discussions regarding a potential merger of equals transaction.
Badlands NGL to build new North Dakota ethane cracker, PE complex
Badlands NGL, LLC, and its partners expect to invest $4 billion to build the polyethylene manufacturing facility in North Dakota. The project will be the largest private investment in state history.
US public transit agencies increasingly adopt clean diesel technology
Nationally, 44% of the diesel transit buses meet or exceed the first EPA clean diesel standard – Model Year 2007 or newer – while 33% of the US truck fleet meet or exceed the standard.
Shell Chemicals offers gas-based fluids, solvents
The high-purity paraffinic fluids are made from gas-to-liquids (GTL) products manufactured at the world’s largest GTL plant -- Pearl GTL in Qatar, a joint venture of Shell and Qatar Petroleum.
- Petrobras delivers LPG sold at steep premiums despite Lula move to annul auction 4/3
- Plug Power to supply 275-MW GenEco electrolyzer system for Hy2gen’s Courant decarbonized ammonium nitrate project 4/3
- Vietnam refinery boosting jet fuel production 4/3
- China plans to upgrade some petrochemical plants, phase out others by 2029 4/3
- Morocco has diesel stocks for 51 days, energy ministry says 4/3
- Nigeria's Seplat Energy hit by strike amid push for higher output 4/3
